


Please let me go

by MidnightBlue66



Series: Whumptober 2020 [2]
Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Child Abuse, Defiance, Ezra Bridger Needs a Hug, Psych 101, Whumptober 2020, no.11
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:20:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26957977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightBlue66/pseuds/MidnightBlue66
Summary: Ezra attempts to escape
Relationships: Ezra Bridger & Darth Maul
Series: Whumptober 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1964185
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	Please let me go

Ezra’s footsteps silently patted down the now somewhat familiar corridors. It had been a few days since the incident in that abandoned outpost and Maul had rarely let Ezra out of his sight, keeping the boy locked behind doors for the first while. Yesterday had been one of the first times that Ezra had been granted the opportunity to leave the room, and Maul took him to a large cavern to commence training, which ended up only in Maul becoming frustrated and hurdling Ezra back into his cell.

Only this time, Maul had not locked the door.

Ezra waited many hours, his ears straining to hear any sound that may indicate Maul returning and locking the door, but he never came and the door remained unlocked. It was only well into the night, when Ezra felt certain that the Zabrak was fast asleep that he quietly opened the door and left the dingy room. 

For the past few days he had wanted nothing more than to return to the safety of his family’s warmth embrace, to be protected from the horrors he had so far faced. Maul did not give him much food, only two tasteless ration bars per day with a cup of water, too little for a growing adolescence. But complaining only got him hit for being ungrateful.

Ezra raised his hand at the memory and winced when he brushed against the healing bruise on his cheek. He had to get out of here, wherever here was. Maul had not told him what planet they were on, only that Ezra would learn that kind of information once he gained the Zabrak’s trust. 

It was not long before Ezra reached the familiar cavern and looked to the left where he remembered seeing an opening of another corridor. Taking a moment to glance around, he saw that there was no sign of Maul and deemed it safe. As silently as he possibly could, Ezra made his way across the cavern and to the corridor, stopping ever so often to listen for any sound. 

He inwardly sighed in relief when he reached it and began to cautiously walk down the dimmed tunnel, only lit by a few torches every once in a while. Ezra went over the plan in his head once more. It was relatively simple. If he made it out of the cave, then Maul’s Gauntlet should be nearby, which he could use to either contact the _Ghost_ or fly off. Whichever was the easiest and quickest option.

There was a shift in the air currents and Ezra stiffened. They felt warmer and lacked the smell of dampness that was prominent in the cave. Hope filled him as his pace quickened. He must be near the entrance, that was the only explanation for the change in the air. His heart pounded as he neared the mouth of the cave, the corridors widening before disappearing into open space. 

Ezra stopped at the birth of the cave, panting and palms sweating. One more step and he would be outside, closer to escaping the clutches of Maul and back to safety. Steeling his nerves, Ezra moved forward with a shuddered breath of relief. He shivered when he was in the open despite the warm temperature. The planet was as dark and twisted as Maul was, sending a wave of unease over him. 

In the horizon just up ahead, he could see the gauntlet and his lips twitched into a smile. Looking back to see no one going after him, he hastily jogged towards the starfighter with new hope. He was so close, just a few more steps and he would make it to the boarding ramp.

“Going somewhere, Apprentice?”

The cold voice froze Ezra midstep, his heart leaping into his throat and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up in dread. _No!_ He had been so close, and yet, not close at all. Swallowing hard, he forced himself to turn. 

Leaning against one of the wings was none other than Maul, his face lacking any sign of amusement as his amber eyes burned bright under the darkness of the night. How Ezra had missed him, he did not know, but it was much too late to cover up his tracks. 

Ezra opened his mouth to say any form of excuse that came to mind, but only a strangled sound slipped out. He instinctively raised his hands to his constricting throat and his legs kicked out under him as he was lifted into the air. 

“I had given you an opportunity to prove yourself, but I see now that I cannot trust you.” Maul said, his voice lacking any emotion. “What a pity.”

Ezra was pulled towards Maul’s open palm, replacing the invisible grip with a physical one. He clawed at the Zarbak’s arm but it did nothing to loosen the grip.

“No matter though,” Maul continued. “I will just have to force you into submission.”

He threw Ezra to the ground and the boy cried out in shock and pain as his back landed on sharp rocks. Ezra barely had time to gather his breath when Maul roughly grabbed his hair and dragged him back towards the cave. Struggling did nothing to slow the Zabrak down and only worsened the pain and so he decided to go limp in hopes to make it more difficult. It had not.

When they reached the cavern, Maul threw Ezra onto the ground and before he could scramble away, Maul clamped chains around Ezra’s ankles. Still it did not stop the boy from pulling at the chains in a desperate attempt to escape the Zabrak’s wrath. His heart pounded painfully against his chest when he heard the familiar _hiss-snap_ of a lightsaber.

Crying out in pain, Maul kicked Ezra before slamming his foot onto the boy’s back, crushing him to the ground. “P-Please, don’t!” Ezra cried out desperately as he felt the heat of the blade. Maul did not heed his pleas and pushed the blade against Ezra’s shoulders.

Ezra wailed in pain, tears stinging his eyes as he felt his skin burn away. He could smell his scorched flesh as Maul finally drew the blade away and stepped off his back. The relief did not last long when he felt the blade run across his back and he screamed. Screamed until his throat went raw.

“I would not have to do if you would only just be obedient,” Maul said, his voice holding a tone of false sympathy. Ezra balled his hands, screwing his eyes shut in agony.

“T-Then don’t, please...” he whimpered out, his throat burning from just speaking. 

“As much as I do not wish to harm you, my apprentice,” Maul continued with the same soft tone. “I fear that you would not learn otherwise.”

Ezra heard the lightsaber deactivate and held his breath. He knew it was not over, but could not will his eyes to open and look. There was no warning when something lashed across his back, hitting the cauterised wounds. Pain blossomed in an intensity Ezra had never felt before and he instinctively attempted to bolt away from it, only to be kept in place by the chains. 

“Kanan!” He screeched, desperately wanting nothing more than the protection of his father figure. Maul growled, displeased at Ezra’s desperate attempt to call for help.

“The Jedi will _not_ be coming. You are _my_ apprentice,” he growled out, lashing again. “You swore loyalty to _me_.”

“Only to let my friends live!” Ezra knew this type of defiance would only cause him more misery, but he did not care at the moment. He gasped out, his eyes snapping open, when a hand roughly grabbed hold of his hair before smashing his face into the ground. Before he could cry out, Maul pulled back his head again before smashing Ezra’s face once more into the dirt, this time effectively breaking his nose. 

Agony burned across Ezra’s face and he could taste the copper of blood on his lips. Tears poured freely down his face as he sobbed in misery, his entire body aching. 

“I only offer what is best in your interest, and yet you act like nothing more than a spoiled brat,” Maul hissed. “This is what defiance will get you. Only _you_ can stop this by accepting your destiny as my apprentice.”

"Please let me go," Ezra sobbed out, ignoring Maul. The Zabrak only growled in anger and frustration as he let go of the boy's hair and took the whip to lash at Ezra's back again. 

The lashing continued until morning before Maul dragged Ezra back to the cell. Ezra laid exhausted on the ground, not bothering to even crawl towards the makeshift bed. His entire body ached, covered in welts and burn wounds, and it almost hurt too much to breathe. He stiffly reached out towards his nose to asses the damage, wincing in pain as he touched it and pulled away. He was very certain that it was broken from the slightly odd angle it was in, but seemed it too painful to try and straighten it out at the moment. 

Ezra allowed silent tears to fall as he stared emptily at the space before him. He wanted to go home, back to his family. A sob escaped his lips at thinking of his family. Would he ever see them again? Or would he be stuck here with Maul until he caves in. The thought made him feel sick.

He did not want to be Maul’s apprentice, even if he had sworn to be so in order to save Hera and Sabine. But for their survival and his loyalty to Kanan, he would endure this torture. Perhaps long enough for them to find him, to rescue him from the evil clutches of Maul.


End file.
